Brooklyn councilman calls city's family court system 'unworkable'

There is a growing push to hire more judges for Brooklyn?s family court system. Experts say the system has seen a flood of new cases in the wake of Nixzmary Brown's death. Councilman Bill de Blasio (D-Brooklyn)

News 12 Staff

Mar 14, 2007, 12:13 AM

Updated 6,426 days ago

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There is a growing push to hire more judges for Brooklyn?s family court system. Experts say the system has seen a flood of new cases in the wake of Nixzmary Brown's death. Councilman Bill de Blasio (D-Brooklyn) says family court is so overloaded that the system is "unworkable." In response to the overload, New York State Chief Judge Judith Kaye is calling on lawmakers to hire 39 new judges statewide. Stephanie Gendell, of the Citizens Committee for Children, says adding more judges would help by lowering the number of caseloads for law guardians. A typical family court case can take months to resolve. Experts say that's why New York State has one of the highest rates of children in foster care.To view the press conference on campaign to increase NYC family judges, go to channel 612 on your iO digital cable box and click on iO Extra.